A study from mobile analytics start-up Flurry shows that despite the 2 billion downloads racked up by the App Store since its launch, iPhone apps have a relatively short shelf life.
The research shows that 67 per cent of apps are used more than 30 days after they are downloaded, 32 per cent are activated more than 60 days after they are downloaded and just 25 per cent of apps are used more than 90 days after they are first downloaded.
Unsurprisingly, news-based apps have the highest retention rate (43 per cent) over a 90-day period due to the fact that they are constantly updated with information, providing almost infinite value to the user.
At the other end of the scale, entertainment-based apps, such as the iFart, IQ Test and iPhone Lighter, have the lowest retention rate (12 per cent) with few consumers using them more than a handful of times over a 90-day period.
It is unclear which apps Flurry is tracking and whether or not they provide an accurate picture of the wider mobile app industry. However, the research could force brands to think twice about investing in apps for brand-building purposes.
Click here for the full research
Comments
The research not only looks at the iPhone but also at other devices \(Google Android, Blackberry, JavaME). This is not overly significant.
This only goes to show the key with any online content is to make it relevant and useful to the user. The Itune App Store is awash with spammy, frankley useless apps. It is no surprise that users delete them so quick as our attention spans get shorter and shorter. Who want's their screens filled up with these apps.
The viral effect of big brand apps such as the Carling iPint works wonders, but I don't see them promting it on the iPhone TV Ads! "Want to look like your are drinking a simulated pint, instead of actually drinking a pint? There's a app for that" No!
These apps need to be useful to user! Making something that is practical and relevant to the brand is the only way improve the rentention rates!
Why would this research "force brands to think twice about investing in apps for brand-building purposes"?
If you want shelf life, do something useful or designed to entertain over the long-term. If you want to make a make a big impression, don't worry about it.
And then ask yourself: What's the shelf life of a megabucks TV ad?
here's re-edited last sentence of the article - "However, the research could force brands to think twice about investing in useless and shallow apps for brand-building purposes"
Is the shelf life of a Playstation game more than 3 months? You play and move on. Those amusing games that get emailed round on a Friday - still playing them 3 months later?
The key word is engagement and iphone apps, assuming they haven't been built by chimps, enable people to engage with a brand in an entertaining and rewarding manner, even if the customers lose interest in less than 90 days Surely that's worth brands time and money?
Mobile has always been about the instant - accessing whatever you want, whenever and whenever, so casual entertainment services such as iphone apps are perfect.
Finally, iphone brings together so many technologies \(mms, Sms, GPS, video) that the opportunity is there for brands to create something of genuine value for customers rather than just going with the obvious - i.e. car brand = branded racing game. So if brands want customers to still be using their apps after 90 days BE CREATIVE!!!
...
Branded applications that have been thought up with no real understanding of the platform will fail. This is a specialist area that requires a wider understanding of mobile platforms than most mainstream agencies have at their immediate disposal. We've always tried to build applications that actually do something and engage the user beyond just a simple brand piece and consequently the commercial results for clients are significant. One branded app we built drove more direct sales in 2 weeks (and has continued this trend) than the web site that had been in place for four years. There's always a place for quick win campaign mobile pieces, but there should be more thought around whether an application (regardless of platform) is necessarily the best carrier for this. In the days before iPhone, when most agencies didn't have a clue how to deploy a mobile application or distribute it as it was far too complex, this question (is an application relevant?) was a mandatory question . iPhone apps can be extremely powerful tools for brands, but even more so if they are not siloed and form part of a fully connected campaign strategy which inextricably links with other activity delivering a unified experience for the consumer.
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Comments
Jeremy Jacobs - 06/10/2009
The research not only looks at the iPhone but also at other devices \(Google Android, Blackberry, JavaME). This is not overly significant. This only goes to show the key with any online content is to make it relevant and useful to the user. The Itune App Store is awash with spammy, frankley useless apps. It is no surprise that users delete them so quick as our attention spans get shorter and shorter. Who want's their screens filled up with these apps. The viral effect of big brand apps such as the Carling iPint works wonders, but I don't see them promting it on the iPhone TV Ads! "Want to look like your are drinking a simulated pint, instead of actually drinking a pint? There's a app for that" No! These apps need to be useful to user! Making something that is practical and relevant to the brand is the only way improve the rentention rates!
George Nimeh - 06/10/2009
Why would this research "force brands to think twice about investing in apps for brand-building purposes"? If you want shelf life, do something useful or designed to entertain over the long-term. If you want to make a make a big impression, don't worry about it. And then ask yourself: What's the shelf life of a megabucks TV ad?
sergei ivanov - 07/10/2009
here's re-edited last sentence of the article - "However, the research could force brands to think twice about investing in useless and shallow apps for brand-building purposes"
Steve Green - 07/10/2009
Is the shelf life of a Playstation game more than 3 months? You play and move on. Those amusing games that get emailed round on a Friday - still playing them 3 months later? The key word is engagement and iphone apps, assuming they haven't been built by chimps, enable people to engage with a brand in an entertaining and rewarding manner, even if the customers lose interest in less than 90 days Surely that's worth brands time and money? Mobile has always been about the instant - accessing whatever you want, whenever and whenever, so casual entertainment services such as iphone apps are perfect. Finally, iphone brings together so many technologies \(mms, Sms, GPS, video) that the opportunity is there for brands to create something of genuine value for customers rather than just going with the obvious - i.e. car brand = branded racing game. So if brands want customers to still be using their apps after 90 days BE CREATIVE!!! ...
James PP - agencymobile - 10/10/2009
Branded applications that have been thought up with no real understanding of the platform will fail. This is a specialist area that requires a wider understanding of mobile platforms than most mainstream agencies have at their immediate disposal. We've always tried to build applications that actually do something and engage the user beyond just a simple brand piece and consequently the commercial results for clients are significant. One branded app we built drove more direct sales in 2 weeks (and has continued this trend) than the web site that had been in place for four years. There's always a place for quick win campaign mobile pieces, but there should be more thought around whether an application (regardless of platform) is necessarily the best carrier for this. In the days before iPhone, when most agencies didn't have a clue how to deploy a mobile application or distribute it as it was far too complex, this question (is an application relevant?) was a mandatory question . iPhone apps can be extremely powerful tools for brands, but even more so if they are not siloed and form part of a fully connected campaign strategy which inextricably links with other activity delivering a unified experience for the consumer.